Advocate Illustrator Sally Garland has recently been celebrating the success of gaining a publishing deal with Simon and Schuster. Below Sally tells us how she got here, what it means to her and how Advocate have helped along the way. Well done Sally!

I have just been offered my first picture book deal with Simon and Schuster and I’m well chuffed to say the least. Not only has it been an ambition of mine for a long time but I can’t believe it is with such a major and prestigious publishing house.

I have worked for years specialising in children’s illustration and design, the majority of my work being for greetings cards and textile design but I’ve always had a burning desire to work within the picture book market. I spend a good deal of time in children’s books shops (now I have my son I can legitimately buy lots of children’s books) studying the market as well as, like most Illustrators, endlessly doodling and sketching.

Children’s books are perhaps one of the last areas where Illustrators can truly exercise their art. The relationship between word and picture is fundamentally what illustration is about and the picture book represents the purest form of this. Being offered a picture book project is an opportunity most illustrators relish as a chance to do something they are truly proud of.

Joining Advocate has been a testament to the benefits of having a really good agent who have achieved in a matter of months something I have been striving to obtain for ages. I think one of the key benefits from being with them is they have been able to put all my work directly in front of the right people at the right time.

Sally Garland